Lent Love

#lentlove is this community’s way of spreading the joy we know in Christ with others, and we’d love to have you join in the love!

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

As our student leaders were deciding what we might do to mark the season of Lent differently, they noticed the heaviness they feel on campus in February and March. Each year, the stress from classes sets in, mental illness peaks, and the world can feel a little darker than it has before. This year, there is added ambient stress from the political environment that is wearing on many among us.

Christians also traditionally take on a practice during Lent: something that helps us reorient our lives away from those things that draw us from God, and instead move us deeper into relationship with God and community.

And so, for Lent this year, as a community, we are turning away from despair and anxiety, and, as much as it is possible, towards love, joy, and even a bit of hilarity. In that turn, we are re-turning to the joy, wonder, and freedom we know in Christ; and we hope to spread that joy around campus!

DO YOU HAVE TO BE A CHRISTIAN TO JOIN IN THE FUN?

Absolutely not. We just ask that as you spread the love, you keep it positive, and shine light into dark places, however that makes sense for you!

HOW CAN I BE PART OF THIS?

When you receive a heart, take a picture of it and post it on social media with the hashtag #lentlove. (This step is entirely optional!)

Think of someone you know that you (or even a stranger next to you in class) that you’d like to bless with some love.

Attach a poem, or a piece of candy, or a nice note, or a bus ticket, or a flower, or whatever you can think of that might brighten their days to the heart that you received. If it can be tied, use the tie attached to the heart.

Slip this under their door, tuck it into their backpack (but not in a creepy way), or sneak it into their notebook.

If you’re the praying kind, say a short prayer that this person might know themselves as a beloved Child of God, and that God’s love and justice might be known in this world.

INTERESTED IN EXPLORING WHAT GOD’S LOVE IN ACTION LOOKS LIKE IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE?